Son Heung-min laments unrewarded effort against Saudi Arabia after 3-2 loss

South Korea, world No. 32, peppered 55th-ranked Saudi Arabia with 15 shot attempts at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan, including six on target, but got saddled with their first loss against the Middle Eastern foe since August 2005.

"It is quite disappointing that our effort did not lead to the desired outcome," Son said. "In football, things sometimes don't go the way we want them to. But in these friendly matches, it is important to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. We have another match coming up Tuesday (against Qatar in Doha) and we have to prepare for it the best we can."

This was South Korea's first match since a trio of 30-year-old national team mainstays, Hwang In-beom, Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Min-jae, threatened to retire from international play over their frustration with Son's leadership. The players claimed Thursday they have mended their fences, and Son said it showed on the pitch Friday -- the final score notwithstanding.

"I think we definitely saw a lot of positive things today, and it is a shame that the outcome of the match will overshadow those good things that we did." Son said. "We communicated a lot on the field today. When we were trailing, we talked amongst ourselves that we will try to mount a comeback and play like this was a tournament match. I saw the kind of determination that I had not seen in the recent past."

Son rued his own blown scoring opportunity. In the 66th minute, after Saudi Arabia had opened up a 3-1 lead, Son intercepted a weak pass by goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais just inside the middle of the box. The South Korean skipper, though, fired the shot way above the crossbar.

"When I do get opportunities, I have to capitalize on them. I didn't do a good job of that today," Son said. "I am really sorry to my teammates. I have to look at myself in the mirror."

The two goals that South Korea did score came off some nifty passing plays -- the first by Oh Hyeon-gyu and the second by Lee Jae-sung -- and Son said the team will try to build off those plays.

"We had good chances that we failed to convert in the first half because we lacked precision," he said. "It is encouraging that we were able to score the way we did today, and we will have to keep getting better." (Yonhap)